Financial advisers interested in offering equity release services to clients will be able to improve their knowledge by attending an education programme set up by Legal & General Home Finance.
The ‘Setting the Foundations’ workshops will focus on investment strategy in the intermediary lifetime mortgage market.
Any financial advisers that have recently qualified in the sector can attend.
Equity release has proved a very popular and an alternative option to pension freedoms, where retirees use the value of their homes to fund their retirement.
The Equity Release Council (ERC), the sector’s trade body, reported that lending reached £3.94bn ($4.9bn, €4.4bn) last year.
In the first few months of 2019 alone, £936m of property value was unlocked by homeowners aged 55+.
Supporting advisers
The first batch of workshops was held in July 2019, with a second set happening in September 2019 at L&G Home Finance’s office in Solihull, near Birmingham.
Additionally, the firm is also hosting peer-to-peer forums targeting compliance professionals in advisory firms to address the risk and challenges of equity release.
“Last year, we announced our new strategy to get more advisers engaged in retirement lending and advising their clients on lifetime mortgages,” said Marie Catch, head of mortgage broker sales at L&G Home Finance.
“A key aspect of this plan was our commitment to investing in the intermediary mortgage market. We want to support and guide advisers looking to enter this sector and that includes the use of CPD events.
“After qualifying, it can sometimes feel daunting to take the leap into advising on lifetime mortgages. Clients entering retirement can have very different circumstances and advisers want to know when, and how, they can raise the conversation about equity release.
“The aim of these workshops is to ensure advisers feel confident in guiding customers through the equity release journey. The sessions are a step towards providing advisers with the support they need to be successful in the growing lifetime mortgage market.”
